Violin News & Gossip, Op. 2, No. 90

December 24, 2006 at 10:33 PM

Do you or another musician you know have a cochlear implant? Consider this ad from December’s International Musician:

“Our 15-year-old son, a talented musician (guitar and voice) has lost much of his hearing as a result of cancer treatment. To assist us in assessing the impact of a possible cochlear implant on his musical hearing, which remains extremely high despite the hearing loss, we are trying to gather information from musicians with cochlear implants who lost their hearing as an adult or young adult. If you know of anyone who meets this description or might have leads, we would very much appreciate your contacting us:”

Jaime Banksjbanksresearch@comcast.net301-325-0699

Good luck to the Banks family! My 37-year-old brother received a cochlear implant this fall, so I know what a big decision this is. In his case, it’s been a miraculous intervention, but he has been deaf since birth and is not a musician.

Musician News

According to an ad in the International Musician, the Degas String Quartet in Charlotte, NC, is seeking a new first violinist. See http://www.degasquartet.com for more information or e-mail simonertz@hotmail.com.

1/14/07 – The American String Quartet will perform at the Manhattan School of Music with a special guest: Robert Mann as second violist, who recently joined the MSM violin faculty. Read this news release for some fascinating tidbits about Mann, the Juilliard String Quartet’s founding first violinist. He has used the decade since his JSQ retirement to focus on solo work and composition, and has composed more than 30 works for narrator and music, often performed with his wife, actress Lucy Rowan. And the violinist has a passion for wilderness backpacking, particularly in the Rockies.

12/21/06 – Here’s a closer look in the Billings Gazette at how Turtle Island SQ violinist Evan Price lost his violin—and how the Billings, MT, police recovered the stolen instrument. “Price said he has already collected from the insurance company and has purchased a new violin, one that he's become accustomed to. He's not sure what will happen to the Praga once he gets it back. ‘I'm really relieved that it's safe but I'm not sure if I'll be playing it again’, Price said. He figured whoever took the Praga would eventually try to sell it but figured it would be ‘somewhere in the range of the next six months to 15 years’. Since it went missing in April, the violin has apparently been stored in a closet in Billings, much to Price's relief.

12/20/06 – The Cincinnati Enquirer reported the death of violinist Henry Meyer. The 83-year-old, a founding member of the LaSalle String Quartet, survived four Nazi death camps in a miraculous story of survival. In one, he shined the shoes of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. Numerous violinists and other musicians comment in his moving obituary.

The Charleston (SC) Symphony, currently embroiled in a desperate attempt to stave off financial disaster, has also hired violinists. Karyn Blake is the new associate concertmaster, while Hana Kim is the new assistant principal second. Three violinists joined as section players: Frances Hsieh, Megan Allison and Brent Price.

Chicago’s Grant Park Orchestra plans to hire an assistant concertmaster and two section violinist for the 2007 10-week summer season.

2/9/07 – This is the deadline to apply to audition for the Huntsville (AL) Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra plans to hire a total of seven violinists.

2/6/07 – African-American musicians age 30 or under should be aware that this is the application deadline for the Detroit Symphony’s Orchestra Fellowship program. Auditions will be held for all orchestral instruments except harp and tuba. Fellows will perform with the DSO for 20 weeks next season; the off weeks will include individual coaching, mentoring and training in audition techniques.

2/2/07 – Applications are due on this date for the chance to audition for the position of first associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra. Auditions will be held 4/16/07.

1/31-2/1/07 - The New York Philharmonic will collaborate on a two-day symposium for music educators to examine music education in Finland - a country of five million people that has produced a disproportionate number of internationally known musicians - and lessons that can be applied in the United States. The symposium, titled "Learning Overtures: Finland -- Radical Success in Music Education," is created in partnership with the Consulate General of Finland, New York University's Steinhardt School of Education, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and the New York City Department of Education. The symposium will occur in conjunction with the world premiere of the piano concerto by Finnish-born composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Salonen, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, will conduct the concerto's February 1 premiere by the New York Philharmonic, and participate in the symposium, speaking about his own experience with music education in Finland.

1/31/07 - The final round of the Madison Symphony Orchestra's 2007 Bolz Young Artist Competition will be broadcast live through a collaboration with Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television, the first statewide broadcast of a music competition for young people. Four high school finalists will perform with the orchestra, competing for cash prizes and the opportunity to perform with the MSO in a concert for their peers the next morning. WPR will broadcast the event live and WPT will air the program, along with profiles of the finalists, on 2/3/07.

1/15/07 – Applications are due on this date for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Diversity Fellowship Program. Auditions will be held in February for this one-year program in which blind auditions determine CSO substitute positions. Up to two fellows will be chosen for violin, viola, cello or oboe; the stipend is $36,000 and includes additional funds for audition travel and health coverage.

1/11/07 – Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra will hold auditions for the associate concertmaster chair, effective with the 2007-08 season.